Title: Mirrors
Author: Daine Artillo
E-mail: atia@crosswinds.net
Rating: high PG (violence - no more than what is in the show)

Part Three: The Flash of Lightning and the Roar of Thunder

Quatre let out his pent up breath as he set down the book that he had been so enthralled in. He was glad that the others had decided to come spend the day in the library, due to the incessant raining. Always having a love for reading, he had begun one of the many books in the library and had finished it before the day was out.

The Arabian glanced out the window, which was painted with clear drops of water. The storm had started strongly last night and did not show any signs of letting up. Quatre sighed slightly. The rain seemed to fit the atmosphere the room was now in.

After that incident with Relena, everyone seemed slightly uncomfortable, Heero most of all. Even though Zechs had somewhat forced the position of guardian upon Heero, he and Relena had become close enough that it was clear he was worried about her. He had sat down near the fireplace, and had not moved since then.

Quatre stood up and cut his way through the thick, unnatural silence like he was brandishing a sword. He replaced the book he had finished on the shelf, and regarded the other books for a moment. A brief flash of lightning blinded him as he once again glanced out the window.

A slight frown decorated his features. With all the luck we’ve been having, it might just as well start hailing, he thought.

Sharp crackles surrounded the house as everyone glanced out the window.

"It’s hailing," Trowa said observantly.

Quatre smiled sourly at the irony of it all.

¤¤¤¤¤

Trowa and Quatre battled. Using fierce combat moves and cunning strategies. The war raged on, the winner undetermined. Suddenly, Quatre’s forces broke through the tired and defeated on Trowa’s side. A jovial battle cry went up unanimously from the winning forces while those who had been defeated hung their heads in shame.

Trowa and Quatre were playing chess.

Trowa looked at his fallen king, the invading white pieces, then up at Quatre.

"That was a good move, Quatre."

"Thanks, Trowa."

Trowa, looking at the board again, looked once more over at Quatre with his gaze mixed with incredulity and suspicion.

"How did you manage it?"

Quatre blushed slightly.

"You mean you won against the chess master?" Wufei said, walking over from his post at the window. "I’m impressed. No wonder you’re our strategist."

Quatre’s face grew slightly more crimson before he cleared his throat and mumbled, "I just picked up on it from the suggestion Miss Relena gave Wufei earlier."

Heero, who was still sitting on the mantel of the fireplace, glared in Quatre’s general vicinity. Trowa mentally smiled slightly at this exchange; it was the first sign of activity he had shown in quite a while.

Catherine moved behind Trowa and peered over his shoulder at the scattered pieces. "Yes, Quatre, good job. It takes a lot to defeat Trowa. Heck, I can’t even scare him with my knives." Quatre laughed with everyone else at this comment - even Trowa smiled.

Smiling innocently, Dorothy added "It seems sharp pointy objects don’t intimidate you either, do they Quatre?" Trowa coughed slightly at comment while everyone else looked confused.

Quatre acted like his side hurt in an exaggerating manner while Dorothy tried to hide her giggling behind her hand.

"What’s she talking about, Quatre?" Duo asked, his face twisted slightly in perplexity. Trowa, Quatre, and Dorothy all laughed out loud, leaving the others wondering just what was so funny. In the middle of the laughter, Quatre felt a sharp pain in his side, as if a needle had pricked him. He ignored it as the laughing eventually subsided along with the pain.

Heero seemed to be lost in thought, gazing at the flames of the fire.

¤¤¤¤¤

Duo jogged lightly up the stairway. He had to talk to Relena. The fact that her behavior and Hilde’s had been so similar had to be more than just coincidence.

As he briskly walked down the hallway, Duo was surprised to see Hilde coming out of her own room. He mentally kicked himself for not being attentive of her whereabouts. As he approached, her face seemed to have more color than when he last saw her, but she still remained silent. Duo just walked past her and continued walking to Relena’s doorway.

He knocked quietly and heard a muffled ‘Come in.’ Opening the door, Duo could have sworn that he saw a flash of disappointment on the girl’s face, as if she had been hoping that the person who was entering was someone else. He leaned against the doorframe and smiled over at her.

"Hey, Ojou-san, how are you feeling?"

"I feel a lot better. Thank you, Duo."

"Good, because I need to talk to you about something."

Relena looked at him curiously. "What about?"

"Do you remember any of what just happened?"

"No," Relena sighed. "It all seems like a blur in my memory. All I remember was glancing in the mirror after washing my hands, then having this massive headache."

Duo looked sharply up. "A mirror? Do you remember anything else before that?"

Relena frowned. "Why does this concern you? It was just a mirror."

Duo continued to prod her. "Go on, tell me what happened."

Relena hesitated. "I remember looking in the mirror, and seeing my reflection. Then…"

"Then…?" he prompted.

"You won’t believe me."

"Relena, even if I don’t believe you, I’ll still listen."

The girl gave him the ‘thanks-a-lot’ look and proceeded to tell him. "The eyes that I saw in my reflection… they were just empty. There wasn’t any glint in them at all." She smiled bitterly at the nonsensical words she had just uttered. "But that’s silly."

"Not at all," he stated in an assuring manner. Because that’s exactly the way Hilde looked last night, he thought

Relena looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Duo just shook his head slightly and told her to be on the look out for anything else that appeared odd. He did not need Relena worried about Hilde on top of everything else.

Relena spoke gravely, "Something is definitely going on. But, why would you tell me? Wouldn’t Heero or Trowa be a better choice?"

Duo smiled wryly at her comment. "They make excellent soldiers, but their people skills are non-existent. That’s where your strong point is. Besides that, I doubt that this thing will happen to the same person twice." And Hilde still isn’t back to normal.

¤¤¤¤¤

The flames of the fire flickered and wavered causing the shadows to move and twist, as if in some wild, unconfined dance. Heero sat and watched the never-ending flames; the light of the fire reflected in his eyes.

Why had Relena suddenly acted that way? That was the only thought that ran through Heero's mind the rest of the evening. He did not perceive anything out of the ordinary that would have caused her unusual behavior, but there had to be something. Somewhere, there had to be a connection.

Heero studied the mantle that Relena had been standing next to. Even with his advanced training, the soldier could not detect anything that seemed out of the ordinary. He vaguely noticed when Duo re-entered the room saying that he had gone to check up on Relena. Heero barely heard him.

His eyes eventually absorbed the top part of the mantle. Nothing there either. He silently cursed his luck. Then, there was the mirror...

The mirror! It was after she had seen herself in the mirror that she had seemed to become her usual self once again. Heero looked at the mirror and could see his own reflection. The image of him sitting near the fire was just as clear, or clearer, than the real thing. He met his own silent gaze and froze for a moment, then hastily, returned to staring at the flames.

¤¤¤¤¤

Catherine stifled a yawn as she glanced at her younger brother. He truly amazed her sometimes. Trowa had been up earlier than she had and still showed no apparent signs of weariness. But then again, Trowa had more than enough practice at wearing a mask. She smiled slightly at the sight of him hunched over a book. He had been that way ever since the chess match with Quatre. She glanced out the window and felt relieved to see that the intense hailing seemed to slow down somewhat. In fact, it appeared that they would be in for a clear night.

Feeling another yawn coming on, Catherine put her hand over her mouth and finally decided to call it quits.

"Well, you guys, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go to bed."

Quatre glanced at the grandfather clock that was situated between two of the bookcases. It was only a fifteen minutes away from announcing that it would be eleven o'clock. He too stood up. "I think I'm going to go to bed too."

They bid the others good night as they headed up the staircase to their respective rooms.

Fifteen minutes passed accompanied by the loud striking of the grandfather clock. The notes of the timepiece seem to hang in the air, announcing the late hour, until everyone else in the room also decided to go to bed themselves. Once everyone had put their books or other objects of interest away, muffled steps could be heard heading toward the door. Duo was the last to leave the room. He frowned when he noticed that Heero still remained at his spot near the dying fire.

"Oi, Heero, aren't you going to go to bed now?"

No answer. Duo paused, uncomfortable more than ever with the unnerving silence of his comrade.

"Well, um, if you are going to stay up, bank the fire so you won't have so much trouble lighting it tomorrow, and don't forget to blow out the lamps."

Heero still did not respond. Duo sighed and hoped that Heero had registered what he had said. The pilot of Deathscythe quietly closed the door behind him and headed up to bed with the others.

Heero stared at the dying embers.

¤¤¤¤¤

He was still on the floor half an hour later. Finally, Heero rose to his feet and banked the fire as Duo had suggested. However, the oil lamps he left alone. They had already burned themselves out about fifteen minutes ago.

As he ascended the stairway, he could tell everyone was asleep by the eerie silence that surrounded and guarded each of the doorways. Heero silently passed the four doors on either side. The only sound that could be heard was the muffled echoing of his footsteps on the wooden floor.

When he reached the doorway to Relena’s room, he hesitated and decided to check in on her one more time before he went to bed. He opened the door slowly to ensure the creaking would not wake her. The mirror that stood across the pathway leading to Relena’s bed reflected the motion of the door and the boy standing near it.

¤¤¤¤¤

Covered snuggly with blankets, Relena felt her eyes open. She was not sure what it was that had woken her, but her eyes quickly scanned her moonlit room. From the faint glow of silvery light, Relena could see the dim outline of someone in her room.

She sat straight up in bed, her heart beating furiously between the bar like coverings of her rib cage. Her trembling hands tightly grasped the blankets that were pulled to her chest. Relena’s nerves were calmed when she identified the imposter in her room. Heero.

"H-heero?" She asked, still slightly frightened by his sudden appearance. Instead of simply leaving her room, as she had expected, he slowly walked closer to her bed, staying near the right wall as he moved. Soft echoes filled the room as his footfalls drew him nearer. His reflection could be seen in the mirror as he progressed past it.

Relena stepped out of bed and put her hands on his shoulders. "Heero? Is something wrong?"

Heero said nothing as he grasped her hands and pulled them from his shoulders. Relena stood, shivering and pale in her nightgown wondering just why her guardian had come in.

His features were hidden by the shadows that his bangs produced. Heero slowly reached his hands toward her face. Relena froze, not knowing what he was going to do.

With intense speed, he pushed Relena roughly against the wall, making sure that no sounds could be heard. Relena gasped with surprise as her trembling hands traveled from her sides to where Heero’s now dwelled. She choked back a sob at where her hands came to rest.

Heero was choking her.

Relena felt her lungs burning as if the hottest possible fire was consuming them. She tried feebly to pull his hands away, allowing the smallest breath of air, but he was far too strong.

Tears hid her vision as she tried to look at her attacker with half closed eyes. Heero’s features were still masked by darkness, but now she could see one of his eyes. Relena choked and coughed as her system tried to handle the shock.

Heero’s eyes were empty.

Relena’s gaze wandered past Heero’s emotionless face and came to rest on the mirror that was directly parallel to their position. Her mind felt hazy as she tried to distinguish the some of the blurry thoughts that came to her mind. Nothing came.

Sleep clouded her mind. Comforting sleep that would cause all problems to go away. Her heartbeat slowed; her lungs stilled. One image stilled burned in her mind. Heero. She struggled to open her eyes one last time.

Relena could barely see him now. Her eyes became heavy as they soothingly promised rest, but some stubborn streak in her made keep them open and choke out a single phrase. Her last.

Her voice was no more than a whisper. "So… you’re finally… going to kill me… hm… Heero?" Relena let her hands slowly slip down. She was so tired.

Relena looked at Heero as she slowly allowed her eyes to begin closing. He still had those blank empty eyes. She shivered slightly as she continued to gaze in them as her mind slipped into oblivion.

Without warning, the vice-like grip around her throat seemed to vanish, and her lungs ravenously breathed in air. Relena’s legs felt like water as she slid slowly to the ground, not being able to support her body. She sat there with the wall to her back, breathing deeply. She closed her eyes before opening them again to see what had happened to Heero.

Her eyes saw something she had never expected to see. Heero had his hands clasping his head. He acted like his mind was being pulled in two directions. Grimacing from the intense pain, Heero looked up at Relena, who was relieved to see familiar Prussian blue eyes. Looking deeper, she saw something else she had never thought to see.

Fear.

Heero bent down and stretched out his hand toward her to help her up.

Relena slapped his hand away with the too fresh memories burning in her mind. She went into convulsions.

¤¤¤¤¤

Dorothy was jarred awake in bed. Her heart raced as if she had just run a marathon. However, she had no idea what had woken her up. She breathed deeply in and out, trying to calm her body down.

She had just managed to get her heart back to its normal pace, when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Dorothy froze.

¤¤¤¤¤

Quatre nearly cried out from the immense pain that he felt in his side. He sat up in bed with his pajamas becoming sweat soaked. His body seemed to relax and grow numb as the boy wondered in a half asleep stupor what had woken him up.

Then the pain came again. Wave after wave of intense torture. Each forceful movement jarring and crushing him. Quatre’s hand mechanically reached for his right side, as if the very presence of his palm could ward off the agony he was going through. He sat there in bed, leaning forward as he grasped his side.

After the most intense part of the anguish had worn off, Quatre’s mind cleared enough for him to realize the significance of the area he was hurting in. It was where Dorothy had stabbed him.

Quatre grabbed his bathrobe as he stumbled out of his room across the wooden floor. As he passed the mirror room with the door slightly ajar, he shivered realizing how much it looked like some hideous beast with the mouth wide open. He chided himself for indulging in such childish fantasies, but with his mind already bordering paranoia, anything seemed worthy of being feared.

With left hand still pressed against his right side, Quatre navigated his way down the steps, his heart seeming to beat everywhere in his body. However, despite his condition, Quatre’s body seemed to handle the next shock fairly well.

There was light streaming from the kitchen.

Quatre softly crept into the kitchen to see Dorothy siting on one of the counters humming. The boy shivered slightly at what else he saw. Dorothy was handling one of the butcher knives on the counter.

She stopped humming mid note. Not even turning around, she spoke with a smile in her voice, "Good evening, Quatre. Why are you up this late?"

Quatre said nothing for a moment. "I could ask the same of you," he said dryly. He grimaced again, as another sharp transfixion of pain seemed to twist his side. "Actually, I was looking for the aspirin. Do you know where it is?"

Dorothy ignored his question and still did not turn around. She asked, "Have you ever noticed the beauty that knives seem to have?" She brushed a delicate finger across the finely sharpened edge. Her finger started to bleed slightly from a shallow cut. She did not seem to notice.

Quatre started to back away from the counter. The pain in his side suddenly intensified causing him to double over. Dorothy hopped off the counter, still holding the knife.

"It's mind boggling to think that such thin, transparent metal can both give and take away life." She started to move closer toward him with the same cold smile on her features. "But you would know about that, Quatre, wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you? I’ll make sure that you know."

"Dorothy," Quatre said, trying to keep his fears under control, "what are you talking about?"

"Maybe I should refresh your memory."

Dorothy suddenly seemed to lunge toward the frozen boy. Quatre scrambled to move out of the girl’s way, when a fresh wave of pain caused his limbs to become immobile. He stood and waited for the knife to strike him somewhere.

It never came.

Quatre heard a loud clatter as the knife was dropped to the ground. He dared to look up and saw Dorothy clasping her head. Tears silently poured down her face as she stood there staring horrified at the knife that now lay on the ground.

"Q-quatre, did I just-" Dorothy started crying.

Quatre gathered the frightened girl in his arms while she sobbed.

The pain was gone from his side.

¤¤¤¤¤

Hilde awoke to the commotion that seemed to be coming from the hallway. Pulling the thick covers off her lower body, she walked as lightly as a feather over to the door and pressed her ear against it. Through the small keyhole, Hilde could faintly understand the words that were being exchanged between two of the guests.

"Are you sure you’re going to be okay, Dorothy?" Quatre asked in a concerned voice.

Muffled sniffing was heard.

"Yes, I’ll be fine," Dorothy replied, still recovering from her tears. "Thank you, Quatre. I’m not quite sure what came over me." She smiled apologetically. "I really don’t even remember what happened. I just saw the knife and…"

There was a slight pause.

"Dorothy… when Relena was acting strangely this afternoon, did you notice anything unusual about her?"

Dorothy shifted uncomfortably. "Actually, besides her looking pale, I noticed that Miss Relena’s eyes seemed…"

"…empty?"

A quick, jerky movement could be heard. "How did…"

"Dorothy, back in the kitchen, when you were threatening me, you had the same expression Relena had."

¤¤¤¤¤

Quatre and Dorothy had now gone to bed. Hilde crept out of her room and softly wandered in the direction of the mirror room. She peeked around the corner of the doorframe before quickly heading back the way she came. Her movements now seemed more graceful and her skin a more natural color.

Hilde shut her door as quietly as she had opened it.

In the mirror-covered room, two more of the candles had flickered out. The storm that had raged for the past day and a half momentarily calmed as if gathering strength for another torrent.

¤¤¤¤¤

-Daine
Written 6-28-00

Disclaimer: All characters, trademarks, etc. of Gundam Wing are copyright of Sunrise, Sotsu Agency, Bandai and others. All story content is copyright of Daine. Please ask before posting.